BioIndustry sets out wishlist for staff

Published on Tuesday 12 February 2008 09:36

THE pipeline of Scottish life sciences graduates and internal training and succession planning have been cited as the two most crucial elements in helping Scotland's life science firms sustain their business.

At the same time, industry recruitment professionals at a BioIndustry Association Scotland (BIA) seminar, hosted by Edinburgh-based recruitment consultant Eden Scott, said the transfer of staff within the 800 million-a-year sector was their least important concern.

When asked to define on a wider industry scale the three most important factors that would allow the bioscience community in Scotland, which employs 27,000 people, to bridge skills gaps and draw suitable staff, industry representatives cited closer links between university and professional life, sponsored placements for undergraduates, and bigger pay budgets to help the sector compete.

Eden Scott director Bruce Hydes said: "There is a clear message from the private sector to universities and colleges to tailor degree courses so that skills gained become more transferable and graduates are better prepared for the world of work."